Donald P. Brutzman: a biography

Design and implement large-scale networked underwater virtual worlds using Web-accessible 3D graphics and network streams. Integrate sensors, models and datasets for real-time interactive use by scientists, underwater robots, ships and students of all ages

Enhanced facial expression using oxygenation absorption of facial skin

Facial skin appearance is affected by physical and physiological state of the skin. The facial expression especially the skin appearances are in constant mutability and dynamically changed as human behave, talk and stress. The color of skin is considered to be one of the key indicators for these symptoms. The skin color resolution is highly determined by the scattering and absorption of light within the skin layers. The concentration of chromophores in melanin and hemoglobin oxygenation in the blood plays a pivotal role. An improvement work on prior model to create a realistic textured three-dimensional (3D) facial model for animation is proposed. This thesis considers both surface and subsurface scattering capable of simulating the interaction of light with the human skin. Furthermore, six parameters are used in this research which are the amount of oxygenation, de-oxygenation, hemoglobin, melanin, oil and blend factor for different types of melanin in the skin to generate a perfect match to specific skin types. The proposed model is associated with Blend Shape Interpolation and Facial Action Coding System to create five basic facial emotional expressions namely anger, happy, neutral, sad and fear. Meanwhile, the correlation between blood oxygenation in changing facial skin color for basic natural emotional expressions are measured using the Pulse Oximetry and 3D skin analyzer. The data from different subjects with male and female under different number of partially extreme facial expressions are fed in the model for simulation. The multi-pole method for layered materials is used to calculate the spectral diffusion profiles of two-layered skin which are further utilized to simulate the subsurface scattering of light within the skin. While the subsurface scattering is further combined with the Torrance-Sparrow Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) model to simulate the interaction of light with an oily layer at the skin surface. The result is validated by an evaluation procedure for measuring the accountability of a facial model via expressions and skin color of proposed model to the real human. The facial expressions evaluation is verified by calculating Euclidean distance between the facial markers of the real human and the avatar. The second assessment validates the skin color of facial expressions for the proposed avatar via the extraction of Histogram Color Features and Color Coherence Vector of each image with the real human and the previous work. The experimental result shows around 5.12 percent improvement compared to previous work. In achieving the realistic facial expression for virtual human based on facial skin color, texture and oxygenation of hemoglobin, the result demonstrates that the proposed model is beneficial to the development of virtual reality and game environment of computer aided graphics animation systems

A Consensus on the Definition and Knowledge Base for Computer Graphics

Despite several decades of historical innovation, measurable impacts, and multiple specializations the existing knowledge base for Computer Graphics (CG) lacks consensus, and numerous definitions for it have been published based on distinct contexts. Disagreement among post-secondary academics has divided CG programs into three contextual areas that emphasize different topics. This division has resulted in the decontextualization of CG education, and CG programs now face several challenges in meeting the needs of industry. Employing the Delphi Method, this investigation explored the perceptions among post-secondary educators and industry professionals about the definition of CG and how it is identified in terms of characteristics and context. The outcomes of this investigation identified CG in the technological paradigm, and provided a road map towards a true definition and distinct knowledge base necessary for establishing CG as a formal computing discipline

Web Cube: A New Model for 3-D Web Browsing Based on Hand Gesture Interaction

3-D web browsing is a promising trend for interaction with web content. However it is still illusive between virtual reality applications on the one side, and conventional web browsing on the other. In this research we propose a new model for 3-D web browsing that capitalizes on features of virtual reality technology with those of conventional browsing in order to provide an enhanced interactive user experience with web content. The new model is based on representing information content elements in 3-D perspective and organizing them inside a 3-D container that we call a “Web Cube” for 3-D web browsing. Furthermore, the model defines appropriate interaction mechanisms based on hand gestures. The model has been evaluated using an experimental technique to evaluate its efficiency, and a questionnaire to evaluate user satisfaction

Rendering Techniques in 3D Computer Graphics Based on Changes in the Brightness of the Object Background

Maintaining accurate colour constancy and constant colour appearance are only a few challenges one must conquer in a modern day digital three‐dimensional (3D) production. Many different factors influence the reproduction of colour in 3D rendering and one of the most important is certainly rendering engines. In our research, we have studied rendering of colours with three rendering engines (Blender Render, Cycles and Yafaray) of an open source 3D creation suite based on changes in the brightness of the object background from 20 to 80%. In one of these cases, colour of the object was adapted to the lighter background using the colour appearance model CIECAM02. With the analysis of colour differences, lightness and chroma between colours rendered using different rendering engines; we found out that rendering engines differently interpret colour, although the RGB values of colours and scene parameters were the same. Differences were particularly evident when rendering engine Cycles was used. However, Cycles also takes into account the object background. Numerical results of such research provide findings, which relate to the respective environment, and also these certainly demonstrate the successful implementation of the colour appearance model CIECAM02 in the 3D technologies and, in our opinion to other software packages for 3D computer graphics

Variable Resolution & Dimensional Mapping For 3d Model Optimization

Three-dimensional computer models, especially geospatial architectural data sets, can be visualized in the same way humans experience the world, providing a realistic, interactive experience. Scene familiarization, architectural analysis, scientific visualization, and many other applications would benefit from finely detailed, high resolution, 3D models. Automated methods to construct these 3D models traditionally has produced data sets that are often low fidelity or inaccurate; otherwise, they are initially highly detailed, but are very labor and time intensive to construct. Such data sets are often not practical for common real-time usage and are not easily updated. This thesis proposes Variable Resolution & Dimensional Mapping (VRDM), a methodology that has been developed to address some of the limitations of existing approaches to model construction from images. Key components of VRDM are texture palettes, which enable variable and ultra-high resolution images to be easily composited; texture features, which allow image features to integrated as image or geometry, and have the ability to modify the geometric model structure to add detail. These components support a primary VRDM objective of facilitating model refinement with additional data. This can be done until the desired fidelity is achieved as practical limits of infinite detail are approached. Texture Levels, the third component, enable real-time interaction with a very detailed model, along with the flexibility of having alternate pixel data for a given area of the model and this is achieved through extra dimensions. Together these techniques have been used to construct models that can contain GBs of imagery data

FACING EXPERIENCE: A PAINTER’S CANVAS IN VIRTUAL REALITY

Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictions.This research investigates how shifts in perception might be brought about through the development of visual imagery created by the use of virtual environment technology. Through a discussion of historical uses of immersion in art, this thesis will explore how immersion functions and why immersion has been a goal for artists throughout history. It begins with a discussion of ancient cave drawings and the relevance of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. Next it examines the biological origins of “making special.” The research will discuss how this concept, combined with the ideas of “action” and “reaction,” has reinforced the view that art is fundamentally experiential rather than static. The research emphasizes how present-day virtual environment art, in providing a space that engages visitors in computer graphics, expands on previous immersive artistic practices. The thesis examines the technical context in which the research occurs by briefly describing the use of computer science technologies, the fundamentals of visual arts practices, and the importance of aesthetics in new media and provides a description of my artistic practice. The aim is to investigate how combining these approaches can enhance virtual environments as artworks. The computer science of virtual environments includes both hardware and software programming. The resultant virtual environment experiences are technologically dependent on the types of visual displays being used, including screens and monitors, and their subsequent viewing affordances. Virtual environments fill the field of view and can be experienced with a head mounted display (HMD) or a large screen display. The sense of immersion gained through the experience depends on how tracking devices and related peripheral devices are used to facilitate interaction. The thesis discusses visual arts practices with a focus on how illusions shift our cognition and perception in the visual modalities. This discussion includes how perceptual thinking is the foundation of art experiences, how analogies are the foundation of cognitive experiences and how the two intertwine in art experiences for virtual environments. An examination of the aesthetic strategies used by artists and new media critics are presented to discuss new media art. This thesis investigates the visual elements used in virtual environments and prescribes strategies for creating art for virtual environments. Methods constituting a unique virtual environment practice that focuses on visual analogies are discussed. The artistic practice that is discussed as the basis for this research also concentrates on experiential moments and shifts in perception and cognition and references Douglas Hofstadter, Rudolf Arnheim and John Dewey. iv Virtual environments provide for experiences in which the imagery generated updates in real time. Following an analysis of existing artwork and critical writing relative to the field, the process of inquiry has required the creation of artworks that involve tracking systems, projection displays, sound work, and an understanding of the importance of the visitor. In practice, the research has shown that the visitor should be seen as an interlocutor, interacting from a first-person perspective with virtual environment events, where avatars or other instrumental intermediaries, such as guns, vehicles, or menu systems, do not to occlude the view. The aesthetic outcomes of this research are the result of combining visual analogies, real time interactive animation, and operatic performance in immersive space. The environments designed in this research were informed initially by paintings created with imagery generated in a hypnopompic state or during the moments of transitioning from sleeping to waking. The drawings often emphasize emotional moments as caricatures and/or elements of the face as seen from a number of perspectives simultaneously, in the way of some cartoons, primitive artwork or Cubist imagery. In the imagery, the faces indicate situations, emotions and confrontations which can offer moments of humour and reflective exploration. At times, the faces usurp the space and stand in representation as both face and figure. The power of the placement of the caricatures in the paintings become apparent as the imagery stages the expressive moment. The placement of faces sets the scene, establishes relationships and promotes the honesty and emotions that develop over time as the paintings are scrutinized. The development process of creating virtual environment imagery starts with hand drawn sketches of characters, develops further as paintings on “digital canvas”, are built as animated, three-dimensional models and finally incorporated into a virtual environment. The imagery is generated while drawing, typically with paper and pencil, in a stream of consciousness during the hypnopompic state. This method became an aesthetic strategy for producing a snappy straightforward sketch. The sketches are explored further as they are worked up as paintings. During the painting process, the figures become fleshed out and their placement on the page, in essence brings them to life. These characters inhabit a world that I explore even further by building them into three dimensional models and placing them in computer generated virtual environments. The methodology of developing and placing the faces/figures became an operational strategy for building virtual environments. In order to open up the range of art virtual environments, and develop operational strategies for visitors’ experience, the characters and their facial features are used as navigational strategies, signposts and methods of wayfinding in order to sustain a stream of consciousness type of navigation. Faces and characters were designed to represent those intimate moments of self-reflection and confrontation that occur daily within ourselves and with others. They sought to reflect moments of wonderment, hurt, curiosity and humour that could subsequently be relinquished for more practical or purposeful endeavours. They were intended to create conditions in which visitors might reflect upon their emotional state, v enabling their understanding and trust of their personal space, in which decisions are made and the nature of world is determined. In order to extend the split-second, frozen moment of recognition that a painting affords, the caricatures and their scenes are given new dimensions as they become characters in a performative virtual reality. Emotables, distinct from avatars, are characters confronting visitors in the virtual environment to engage them in an interactive, stream of consciousness, non-linear dialogue. Visitors are also situated with a role in a virtual world, where they were required to adapt to the language of the environment in order to progress through the dynamics of a drama. The research showed that imagery created in a context of whimsy and fantasy could bring ontological meaning and aesthetic experience into the interactive environment, such that emotables or facially expressive computer graphic characters could be seen as another brushstroke in painting a world of virtual reality